Sometimes a name changer can be a game changer.
Since inception back in the 1960s, the physician assistant (PA) role has become a cornerstone of healthcare, filling jobs in every area from primary care to surgery. And in the last six decades, the role has evolved significantly from supporting doctors into independent care providers with broader responsibilities.
In 1980, there were about 29,000 active PAs in the US, but by 2021, there were 125,000+ in practice. A 2021 paper in the American Journal of Managed Care attributes some of the growth to the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which increased the number of insured patients seeking care by 25 million, according to the paper, as well as the responsibilities and size of the healthcare workforce.
In recognition of that shift, the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) House of Delegates changed its name in 2021, no longer using the word “assistant.”
“When you just look at the title alone, assistant, it’s far more than semantics. Assistant, by definition, suggests that they’re just assisting someone else in delivering care,” Chantell Taylor, AAPA’s chief of public affairs and advocacy, told Healthcare Brew.
But PAs do much more, she said, including specialty care, primary care, providing treatments, making diagnoses, and writing prescriptions. They are “highly educated medical professionals,” who require graduate school and clinical trading before they are certified.
“Patients should be able to trust they can do [it] on their own without just being a mere assistant to someone else,” Taylor said.
Now, states and universities are following suit and also adjusting the title.
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Why change? In addition to the roles of PAs expanding and evolving, the Association of Medical Colleges projected last March that the healthcare industry would be short up to 72,600 physicians in 2025 and up to 86,000 by 2036, which can lead to longer wait times for care.
“Physician associates have been a really important part of filling gaps in the healthcare workforce, particularly in rural areas and areas that are traditionally underserved,” Taylor said.
With a name change, it’s clear to patients that they’re receiving care from an appropriate provider and clear to providers where PAs fit in the care delivery system, she added.
According to the AAPA, 71% of patients in a survey thought “physician associate” matches the PA job description.
“If there’s a misperception about how a PA functions as part of care delivery, then they’re going to be underutilized in trying to fill those gaps in the healthcare workforce,” Taylor said.
Where does it stand now? So far, only Oregon has passed legislation that recognizes the title change as of June 2024.
But New Hampshire has a bill on the table, and state PA groups in Maine and Minnesota both changed their names last year.
Some schools—like Keck Graduate Institute in California, Wichita State University in Kansas, Alvernia University in Pennsylvania, and West Chester University in Pennsylvania—have changed their program names to include the new title. Yale School of Medicine has used the term since 1970.
“Name change is an important part of the evolution in updating and modernizing PA practice laws,” Taylor said.